Consumo de maíz por poblaciones nativas de Mendoza (centro-oeste argentino) y su relación con las condiciones ambientales

• Autor: Alejandro Garcia y Eduardo Martínez Carretero
• Cargo: CIGEOBIO (CONICET-Universidad Nacional de San Juan)/Geobotánica y Fitgeografía (IADIZA-CONICET)

M : -,  5

ISSN 0327-9375

ISSN 1852-7329 on-line

Corn consumption in native populations of Mendoza

(central-western Argentina) and its relation

to environmental conditions

Consumo de maíz por poblaciones nativas de Mendoza (centro-oeste argentino)

y su relación con las condiciones ambientales

A G  E M C

1 CIGEOBIO (CONICET-Universidad Nacional de San Juan)

2 Geobotánica y Fitgeografía (IADIZA-CONICET)

A

In this article we analyze data on hydroxyapatite δ13C and δ15N from dated human bones, in

order to evaluate the variability of corn eating, the possible incidence of the Little Ice Age (LIA)

environmental changes on the regional production and consumption of this cereal by the native

populations of central-western Argentina. We also evaluate whether or not the average curves

are representative of sub-regional situations. Our results show that: a) the regional δ13Cap and

δ15N curves are only partially representative for the situations recorded in San Juan and Men-

doza. b) When considering the diverse environments of Mendoza, the provincial average curves

and the sub-regional ones show signicant dierences. c) ere are no signs of a drastic decrease

in maize consumption during the Inca period. d) e decline in maize consumption appears

in only one sub-region of Mendoza province during ca. 1777-1808 AD and no environmental

incidence was detected.

R

En este artículo se analiza la información isotópica de δC13 (hidroxiapatita) y δN15 de huesos

humanos, a n de evaluar la variabilidad del consumo de maíz, la posible incidencia de los cambios

ambientales de la Pequeña Edad del Hielo sobre la producción regional y el consumo de este

cereal, y si las curvas promedio son representativas de las situaciones zonales. Nuestros resultados

indican que: a) las curvas δCap13 y δN15 son sólo parcialmente representativas de las situaciones

regionales registradas en Mendoza y San Juan. b) Cuando se consideran los distintos ambientes de

Mendoza, la curva promedio provincial y las subregionales muestran diferencias signicativas. c)

No hay evidencias de un descenso drástico del consumo de maíz durante el período incaico. d) La

6 A. García & E. Martínez Carretero

I

Central-northern Mendoza is the south-

ern boundary of the dispersion of pre-

hispanic cultivation of maize in the arid

Argentinean west (Gil 1997-1998; Gil et

al., 2010, 2014). e presence of corn in

the native food was already highlighted

in the mid-twentieth century by Canals

Frau (1946), at a time when regional ar-

chaeological and documentary research

was in its early stage and the available

information was very scarce. Subsequent

works allowed for the broadening of

this vision and registering the presence

of other plant resources in the local diet

(e.g., Bárcena et al., 1985, Durán & Gar-

cía, 1989; García, 1992). Maize has been

registered only in two sub-regions of

Mendoza. In the Huentota Valley maize

remains appeared at the Memorial de la

Bandera site (Chiavazza, 2015), associat-

ed with a date of 1230 ± 60 BP (LP 2644).

In the pre-Andean valleys and the neigh-

boring eastern precordilleran sector, the

ndings were more numerous. In Cueva

del Toro, corn appeared in contexts cor-

responding to the period 600-1530 AD

(García, 1988); in Los Conitos 1 and 2

(Cortegoso, 2006) it was part of contexts

dated between 1050 ± 40 (Uru 0250) and

1560 ± 50 BP (Uru 0251); in San Ignacio

(Gasco et al., 2011) appeared at a level

dated to 1310 ± 40 BP (Uru 0301), in El

Jagüelito Cave (García, 1992) with dates

of 1050 ± 80 (I 14291) and 980 ± 50 BP

(LP 309), and in Agua de la Cueva at a

level dated 1450 ± 40 BP (Beta 26248-1)

and other of an age between 1450 and

1530 AD (Durán & García, 1989). e

oldest record in this area comes from

the site Agua de la Tinaja (Bárcena et

al., 1985) and could be associated with a

date of 2340 ± 80 BP (Beta 8580).

Succeeding isotopic analyzes allowed

us to consider another type of evidence

(human bones) and infer the propor-

tion of corn in the indigenous diet of

Mendoza and San Juan (e.g. Gil et al.

2009, 2010). A recent regional trend

of hydroxyapatite δ13C (δ13Cap) points

out that the consumption of maize by

native groups in central-western Ar-

gentina (provinces of San Juan and

Mendoza) would have decreased since

the Inca times due to climatic changes

recorded between 1370 and 1750 AD

(Gil et al. 2014). is hypothesis com-

prises a number of components open

to discussion, including the represen-

tativeness of the proposed regional

curve, the decline in indigenous maize

consumption since the Inca period, the

incidence of the Little Ice Age (LIA) in

a drastic fall in maize production, and

the role of maize in the indigenous diet

change during Spanish conquest. An al-

ternative reading of the same database

oers a dierent vision for the province

of Mendoza and for the sub-regions

that contributed with samples for the

isotopic studies.

disminución del consumo de maíz aparece en una sola subregión de Mendoza, durante ca. 1777-

1808 d.C. y no se detectaron incidencias ambientales en la misma.

Key words: Central-western Argentina, diet,

environmental change, Inca, stable isotopes,

Little Ice Age, maize

Palabras clave: Centro-oeste argentino, dieta,

cambio ambiental, incas, isótopos estables,

Pequeña Edad de Hielo, maíz